Yarn splicing apparatus



Dec. 27, 1966 c. B. ABELSMA YARN SPLICING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 24, 1964 INVENTOR CORNE LiS B. ABELSMA Dec. 27, 1966 c. B. ABELSMA YARN SPLICING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 24, 1964 Du o T N E V N CORNELIS B. ABELSMA 66.

United States Patent 3,294,614 YARN SPLICING APPARATUS Cornelis B. Abelsma, Buena Vista, Va., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Burlington Industries, Inc., Greensboro, N .C., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 24, 1964, Ser. No. 377,636 7 Claims. (Cl. 156-433) This invention relates to yarn splicing equipment and more particularly to a hand operated splicer for fusing or splicing thermoplastic yarns, threads and filaments.

In the manufacture of pile fabrics such as soft floor coverings the use of synthetic yarns is becoming more and more prevalent. Many of these yarns are thermoplastic and therefore are capable of being joined together by a fusing operation at elevated temperature. Furthermore, the slippery character of the filaments, for example nylon, is such that the knots heretofore used for wool and natural fibers do not always hold. The down time of a loom or tufting machine is always to be avoided or reduced so that a simple, effective and quick splicing means for thermoplastic yarn in the operation of a tufting machine or loom is highly desirable. Heretofore these yarns have been spliced with an adhesive such as latex or with various heat fusing devices. All of these have had one or more serious objections. They are heavy and cumbersome and may not provide a satisfactory splice that will run through the eye of the needle of a tufting machine.

The present invention overcomes these objections by providing a simple, lightweight cutting and fusing device that insures proper splice strength and positively maintains the yarns in the correct splicing and fusing position.

A primary object of the invention, therefore, is to provide a yarn splicing tool having a notch positioned in a rotatable element which controls and guides two yarns to a confined position adjacent a heating element which automatically trims off the yarn ends and splices the yarns together.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a yarn splicing tool means for rotatably trapping .and guiding a pair of yarns to a fusing position so that both are presented in tight relationship to a fusing and cutting heat element.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and. drawings in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective of my improved yarn splicing tool,

FIGURE 2 is a front view of the tool of FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a side view partly broken away of the upper portion of the tool of FIGURE 1,

FIGURES 4 to 6 are successive views showing the operation of the splicing tool in trimming and splicing a pair of yarns,

FIGURE 7 is a side view of the heating and cutting element,

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged sectional detail showing the relative positions of the yarns and control elements at the moment of fusing, and

FIGURE 9 is a fragmentary view similar to FIGURE 3 with the spool in the rotated or splicing position.

The splicing tool constructed in accordance with the present invention comprises a handle 9 which is provided with a guard plate 10 secured by screws 11, 11. A spool or barrel 12 is journaled in the upper offset portion of handle 9 and retained by means of screws 13, 13. One flange 14 of the spool 12 is of a substantially larger diameter than the opposite flange 15 so that a stationary plate 16 having an arcuate recess 17 is secured to handle 9 by means of screws 18, 18. Flange 14 is provided with a thumb trigger 20 and a V-shaped round bottom slot 21 which is generally in line with trough 22 transversely cut in the upper surface of the handle extension when the spool 12 is in the loading or released position. On the inside of flange 14 I provide a post 23 which is connected to a post 24 in handle 9 by means of an extension spring 25 so that the spool is returned to its normal or the rest position shown in FIGURE 3 in the absence of pressure on trigger 20.

Referring now to FIGURE 3, flange 15 has two limit stop faces 30 and 31, the former of which abuts against a face 32 of handle 9 to positively locate a round notch 33 in line with a V-shaped slot 34 formed by the top surface of the handle extension and the forward edge of plate 16. Thumb pressure on trigger 20 turns spool 12 in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 3 until the face 31 of flange 15 abuts edge 32 as shown in FIGURE 9. In this position the spring 25 is fully extended andthe notch 33 is closed by reason of the fact that it moves underneath the lower arcuate edge 17 of plate 16. The heating and cutting element 35 is mounted on the top of the handle by means of a screw 36 and bracket 37 and the coil 38 of the element is accurately positioned in close spaced relationship with the inner face 39 of plate 16. This relationship is illustrated in FIGURES 4 to 6 and 8. The importance of the spacing of the heating coil 38 with respect to the notch 33 when in the cutting position will be more fully explained hereinafter. I also provide a spring clip 40 which is secured to flange 15 by means of screws 42, 42. A switch 43 is conveniently mounted across guard plate 10 and plate 16 so that the operator may control the heating of coil 38 which is connected to a pair of leads 44, 44 extending through the handle 9 to a suitable source of low voltage electrical energy.

In operation, two yarn ends 50 and 51 which are to be spliced are held together by the operator, quickly inserted under clip 40 land into the V-shaped slots 34 and 21 so that both yarn ends bottom in the notch 33 and in trough 22 as shown in FIGURE 4. The operator then presses trigger 20 to turn the spool in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 3 to trap both yarn ends in the notch 33 and carry them under the edge 17 of plate 16. In this condition they are compressed together and carried forwardly and upwardly to a position shown in FIGURE 8 in which the yarns 50 and 51 are wiped against one side only of heating coil 38 and pass underneath the lower edge of the heating element so that there is a degree contact between the yarns and the element. The ends of the yarn which are to be trimmed do not come in contact with the side of element 38 since they extend directly to slot 21 from the bottom of the coil 38. Due to the relatively greater distance between slot 21 and coil 38 the two yarns that are trimmed off will not seal together. This relationship insures clean cutting of the yarns together with a sealing of the portion of the yarns held adjacent the side of the coil 38 as is shown clearly in FIGURES 6 to 8. Since the yarns are compressed into the relatively small notch 33 and closely retained therein at the moment of cutting a strong satisfactory splice is always assured. The V-shape of slot 34 guides the yarns into the notch 33 and the clearance across the base of slot 34 is less than the aligned opening of the notch 33. This insures that all of the filaments in the yarns are securely engaged in the notch and will not be ruptured or remain unfused.

The present device is lightweight, simple and foolproof in operation, will not readily get out of order or adjustment, and accurately positions the yarns at the instant of fusing to provide that strong splices always occur. Yarn control is maintained at all times and the down time of a tufting machine or loom to repair broken ends is reduced to a minimum.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A cutting and splicing tool for thermoplastic yarns comprising a handle, a spool journaled at one end of the handle, a pair of limit stops on said spool, spring means for holding the spool in a rotated position against one of said stops, means on the spool for manual contact there of to rotate the spool against the tension of said spring means, a flange on said spool, walls defining a notch in said flange, said notch being positioned on the flange in alignment with a trough on the handle, a plate surrounding a portion of the periphery of said flange and under an edge of which the notch is carried when rotated, and a heating element positioned in close spaced relation to the inner terminus of said notch when the'spool is rotated against one of said limit stops.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 having a second flange on the spool on the opposite side of the handle, and walls defining a V-shaped notch in said second flange in axial alignment with the notch.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 in which the notch in the flange is circular and has an opening less than 180.

4. A cutting and splicing tool for thermoplastic yarns comprising an L-shaped handle, a spool journ-aled adjacent the terminus of one leg of said handle, a first flange on said spool generally flush with a side of the handle leg, a second flange on said spool of substantially greater diameter than the first flange and generally flush with the opposite side of the handle leg, a stationary V-shaped notch in one side of the handle leg and beyond the periphery of the first flange, a circular notch in the periphery of said first flange, a limit stop for the spool, spring means for retaining the spool against said limit stop to align the circular notch in the flange with the V-shaped notch in the handle, a trough in the handle extending axially from the notch in the flange when in an at rest position, a V- shaped notch in the second flange in line with the trough and the circular notch, and a heating element in close spaced relation to the inside of the first flange for cutting and splicing a yarn when engaged in the circular notch and when the spool is rotated to wipe the yarn against the side of the heating element.

5. A tool in accordance with claim 4 having a second limit stop for positioning the yarn against the heating element when the spool is fully rotated.

6. A tool in accordance with claim 5 in which the limit stops are surfaces on the first flange.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 4 having a plate partially surrounding the first flange for compressing the yarn into the circular notch when the spool is rotated and in which the contact edge of the heating element for the yarn is substantially below the circular notch in the flange when rotated so that the yarn is forced around the edge of the heating element to contact two sides thereof.

No references cited.

EARL M. BERGERT, Primary Examiner.

D. I. DRUMMOND, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CUTTING AND SPLICING TOOL FOR THERMOPLASTIC YARNS COMPRISING A HANDLE, A SPOOL JOURNALED AT ONE END OF THE HANDLE, A PAIR OF LIMIT STOPS ON SAID SPOOL, SPRING MEANS FOR HOLDING THE SPOOL IN A ROTATED POSITION AGAINST ONE OF SAID STOPS, MEANS ON THE SPOOL FOR MANUAL CONTACT THEREOF TO ROTATE THE SPOOL AGAINST THE TENSION OF SAID SPRING MEANS, A FLANGE ON SAID SPOOL, WALLS DEFINING A NOTCH IN SAID FLANGE, SAID NOTCH BEING POSITIONED ON THE FLANGE IN ALIGNMENT WITH A TROUGH ON THE HANDLE, A PLATE SURROUNDING A PORTION OF THE PERIPHERY OF SAID FLANGE AND UNDER AN EDGE OF WHICH THE NOTCH IS CARRIED WHEN ROTATED, AND A 